Automatic engine-controlling device.



PATENTED OCT. 6, 1903.

I H. J. MOHLEI-V-HOFF.

AUTOMATIC ENGINE con momma DEVICE.

ArfmoA'noN FILED JULY 19. 1902. v

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/ fi ATTORNEYS cams Pnzm co. menu nmon wAsnmurou u 4 No. 740,454. N NPATENTED OCT. 6, 190a. 1H. J. MOHLENHOFF.

AUTOMATIC ENGINE CONTROLLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19, .1902;

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AMTTORNE J are. 740,454..

UNIT STATES Patented October 6, 1903.

: PATENT OFFICE.

HERMANN J. MOHLENHOFF," OF NEW YORK, N. Y.', ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOOHARLESD. NEWTON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC ENGINE-CONTROLLING DEVICE.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 740,454, datedOctober 6, 1903. Application filed July 19,1902. Serial No. 116.1511 (N0model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HEBMANN J. MOHLEN- HOFF, a citizen of the UnitedStates of Amer ica, and a resident of the city of New York, Bronxborough, county and State. of New York, have invented certainnew anduseful Improvements in Automatic Engine-Controlling Devices,of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to automatic enginecontrolling devices, andparticularly to automatically-controlled means for stopping a lothemotor into operation, which tripping mechanism may be operated either bya system of track instruments under the control of precedinglocomotives, each locomotive controlling the track instrument in therear thereof, or by camsor the like,which may be set manually from adistanceor employed in connection with a signaling system.

The object of my invention is to stop a locomotive by means outside ofthe direct control of the locomotive driver or engineer, so that samemay be automatically stopped when entering a danger zone, when runningpast a signal, or, should it become necessary or desirable, by anoperator at stations along the line.

I will now proceed to describe an apparatus embodying invention and willthen point out the novel features in claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a general view, in side elevation, of anapparatus embodying my invention and showing the same applied to alocomotive,itself illustrated in dotted on tline. Fig. 2 is aview in endelevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a view in central longitudinalsection,on a larger scale,of a motor employed. Figs. 4 and 5 are detailviews of a tripping device. Fig. '6 is a diagrammatic view of arailroad-track and certain track instruments employed. Fig. 7 is adetail side elevation, on a larger scale, of one of the trackinstruments' with the casing thereof in section. Fig. 8 is a top viewthereof. Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view of a controlling-valve em=ployed for the motor.

Inthe present embodiment of my invention themotor carried by thelocomotive is designated in the drawings as a whole by the referencecharacter 1, the piston-rod or any other operating member of whichengages the throttle-valve 2. The motor herein comprises a cylinder 3and a piston 4, having a pistonrod 5. The piston-rod 5 is connected witha lever 6, suitably fulcrumed at 7, and the opposite end of the saidlever has a pin 8, which throttle-valve. The throttle-valve owing tothis slotted connection is free to be operated by its lever 10 in theusual manner when the motor is in its rest position, which is theposition in which it is shown in the drawings, because the stem of thethrottle-valve is at such times free of the lever 6. The motor isprovided with an exhaust-valve 11, whose normal position is closed andin which position it is shown in the drawings. An operating-piston 12 islocated in the cylinder 13 and connects a piston-rod 14 with a lever 15for operating the said exhaust-valve. When the piston moves forwardly,or from right to left, as shown in Fig. 3 in the drawings, air confinedwithin the cylinder 3 in advance of the piston is forced through-aconnection 16 to the cylinder 13 in advance of theexhaustvalve-operating piston 12. Theair being partially compressed willforce the operatingpiston 12 rearwardly in its cylinder to open theexhaust-valve. Air-ports l7 and 18 in. cylinder 13 permit air in therear of the piston 12 to be expelled from the cylinder 13 during therearward movement of its piston 12, and in the final movement of thesaid piston the port 17, having been overridden by the piston 12, willbe opened in advance of the said piston and the excess of compressed isreceived within a slot 9 of the stem of the air between the two pistons12 and discharged therethrough.

A controlling-valve 19 is provided for the motor and is located in apipe 20, connected with a source of fluid-pressure supply and preferablywith the steam-space of the locomotive-boiler. The controlling-valve,which is shown in detail in Fig. 9, is preferably a two-way valve, whichwhen in one position opens the interior of the cylinder 3 behind thepiston 4 to exhaust or atmosphere and when in the other positionconnects the cylinder with motive fluid under pressure. By thisarrangement should any leakage occur in the valve the motive fluid willmerely discharge to exhaust or atmosphere and will not tend to operatethe motor 1, nor will water of condensation tend to collect in the rearend of the cylinderorin the portion of the pipe 20 between it and thevalve 19. I have provided automatic means controlled from a distance formoving the valve 19 and hence for operating the motor 1 to stop theengine when desired. I have provided a block system of track instrumentsoperated by the locomotives themselves in their movements along the lineto set and release cams for operating a trip upon the succeedinglocomotive should such locomotive attempt to approach too near itspreceding locomotive, and I have also provided other cams which may beoperated from a distance by hand or in connection with a signal systemby which a locomotive may be stopped when desired opposite anypredetermined point. The block system, which is shown diagrammaticallyin Fig. 6, and the track instruments, which are shown on a larger scalein Figs. 7 and 8, comprise trackinstrument levers 21 and 22. The lever21 is pivoted to or in proximity to the track, as at 23, and the lever22 is pivoted by slotted connection to a pin 24. The lever 21 hassecured 4' will be thereto an arm 25, the end of which has an.

uprising cam portion 26, adapted to be raised into or lowered out of thepath of movement of a tripping device carried by the locomotive. Eachpair of track-instrument levers 21 and 22 are connected to another pairof track-instrument levers 27 and 28, arranged in proximity to the trackat some distance farther along same. The track-instrument levers 21 and22 are connected by a link 29 to a bell-crank lever 30, and the levers27 and 28 are connected by a similar link 31 to a similar bell-cranklever 32. A connecting-rod 33 connects the bell-crank levers 30 and 32together. The parts are constructed and ar ranged so that when thetrack-instrument levers 21 and 22 have been depressed by a passinglocomotive track-instrument levers 27 and 28 are in a condition to bedepressed by the locomotive in its further movement along the track, andthe depression of the track-instrument levers 27 and 28 will in turnreset or raise the track-levers 21 and 22 in position to be operated ordepressed by the next succeeeding locomotive.

The tripping device carried by the locomotive and which is arranged tobe in the path of the cams 26 when in their operative positionscomprises a finger 34, having a double fulcrum 35 36, a connecting-rod37, pivotally connected to the finger 34 at 38, and a spring 39,normally tending to hold the finger 34 in an intermediate positionbetween its two fulcra. The connecting-rod 37 is connected to one arm ofa bell-crank lever 40, the other arm of which is connected to aconnectingrod 41, whose opposite end connects with one arm of anotherbell-crank lever 42, the other arm of which is connected through aslotted link 43 with an operating-lever 44, secured to the valve 19.Should a locomotive in its movement along the track pass a trackinstrument which has been operated or depressed to bring its cam 26 inthe path of movement of its tripping-finger 34, the tripping-finger 34carried thereby will be rocked upon one or other of its fulcra, inaccordance with in which direction the locomotive is running, againstthe resistance of the spring 39, and movement will be transmittedthrough the connecting-rod 37, bell-crank lever 40, connecting-rod 41,bell-crank lever 42, link 43, and operating-lever 44 to thecontrollingvalve 19. The controlling-valve 19 thus operated will connectthe rear of the cylinder 3 with the source of fluid-pressure supply, andthe motor will be operated to close the throttle-valve of the locomotivein a manner before explained. Directly the tripping-finger has passedthe cam 26 the tripping-finger 34, the connecting-rods 37 and 41, andthe bell-crank levers 40 and 42 will be returned to their normalpositions by means of the spring 39. The controlling-valve 19 and itsoperating-lever 44 are not affected, however, by the return movement ofthe above-mentioned parts because of the slotted connection between thelink 43 and the lever 44.

The operating-lever 44 is provided with a handle, as is also theexhaust-valve lever 15, so that the valves may be returned to theirnormal positions manually by the locomotive operator after they havebeen automatically thrown to stop the locomotive.

The system of track-levers hereinbefore explained may be located inblocks along the track in a manner readily understood, and I preferablyoverlap the blocks, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the track instrument ofablock which a locomotive is entering will be set at danger behind thelocomotive before the track instrument at the entrance of the blockwhich the locomotive is leaving is set at safety. It will be apparentthat a locomotive in entering a block sets the track instrument indanger position behind itthat is to say, the track-levers are set insuch a position as to raise their cam 26 to operate the tripping deviceof a locomotive following too closely behind. It will also be apparentthat in leaving the block and in operating the track-levers at the endthereof the track in- ICC ' again be set to safety, so that anotherlocomotive and train may be permitted to enter the block controlledthereby.

I have shown in Fig. 7 a spring 45, which may be employed to maintainthe track-levers in their depressed or raised positions, in accordancewith which position they may be set. I preferably also providethe'locomotive with a tripping device 46, similar to thebeforeinentioned tripping mechanism, and which for convenience may bearranged upon the roof of the cab of the locomotive and connected to theoperating-lever 44, as shown in Fig. 1. I

in connection with a signaling system, anto matic or otherwise, or whichmay be set by hand from a distant point by suitable connections in amanner well understood to those skilled in the art towhich thisinvention appertains. By this means I may provide a number of pointsalong a tunnel, for instance, at which the locomotive may be stoppedwhen desired regardless of the block system of track instruments orentirely independent thereof.

What I claim is- 1. In an automatic engine-controlling de vice, thecombination with a motor adapted to engage an engine throttle-valve,anda valve for controlling supply of motive fluid to the motor, of trippingmechanism, carried by the engine, for operating the motor-controllingvalve, said tripping mechanism comprising a lever having two fulcra,upon either of which it is adapted to be rocked in accordance with inwhich direction pressure is applied thereto, a pull-rod connected tosaid lever between the two said fulcra, and a spring for holding thelever in its normal position, and a track instrument for engaging thetripping mechanism.

2. In an automatic engine-controlling device, the combination with amain cylinder, a piston therein, said piston adapted to engage an enginethrottle-valve, an auxiliary cylinder in open communication at one endwith the forward end of the main cylinder, said main cylinder having anexhaust-passage at its rear end, a valve in said exhaustpassage, apiston in said auxiliary cylinder, and a connection between saidexhaust-Valve andsaid auxiliary piston, of a valve for controllingsupply of motive fluid to the rear end of said main cylinder, and means,disconnected from the engine or any part movable therewith, foroperating the motor-controlling valve.

3. In an automatic engine-controlling device, the combination with amain cylinder, a piston therein, said piston adapted to engage an enginethrottle-valve, an auxiliary cylinderin opencommunication at its forwardend with the forward end of the main cylinder,and at its rearward endwith exhaust, an exhaust-passage at its rear end, a valve in saidexhaust passage, a piston in said auxiliary cylinder, and a connectionbetween said exhaust-valve and said auxiliary piston, of a valve forcontrolling supply of motive fluid to the rear end of said maincylinder, and means, disconnected from the engine or any part movabletherewith, for operating the motor-controlling valve.

4. In an automatic engine-controlling device, the combination with amain cylinder, a piston therein, said piston adapted to engage an enginethrottle-valve, an auxiliary cylinder in open communication at itsforward endwith the forward end of the main cylinder, and at itsrearward end with exhaust, said auxiliary cylinder having also anexhaust-port adapted to be overridden by the piston in its rearwardmovement, an exhaust-.

passage at its rear end, a valve in said exhaust-passage, a piston insaid auxiliary cylinder, and a connection between said exhaust-valve andsaid auxiliary piston, of a valve for controlling supply of motive fluidto the rear end of said main cylinder, and means, disconnected from theengine or any part movable therewith, for operatingthe motor-controllingvalve.

5. In an automatic engine-controlling device, the combination with amotor adapted, when operated, to stop the engine, and tripping mechanismtherefor, of a track instrument, for engaging said tripping mechanism,comprising two sets of track-levers arranged at opposite ends of apredetermined section of track, a connecting-rod connecting the saidlevers together, whereby one set of levers is always in the oppositeposition to the other, and a spring operating to exert tension inopposite directions with respect to said connecting-rod, according tothe relative positions of the track-levers to maintain the said leversin either position they are set.

HERMANN J. MOHLENHOFF.

Witnesses:

G. F. OARRINGTON, M. M. OoNovER.

It is hereby certified that Letters Patent No. 740,454, granted October6, 1903, upon the application of Hermann J. Mohlenhofi', of New York, N.Y., for an improvement in Automatic Engine-Controlling Devices, waserroneously issued to Hermann J 4 Mohlenhofi' and Charles D. Newton, asjoint owners of said invention; whereas the patent should have beengranted to said Charles D. Newton, he being sole owner of the entireinterest as shown by the assignments of record in the Patent Oflice; andthat said Letters Patent should he read with these corrections thereinthat the same may conform to the record of the case in the PatentOffice.

Signed and sealed this 27th day of October, A. 1)., 1903.

[SEAL.]' F. I. ALLEN,

Commissioner of Patents.

